Bowling Industry News

Bowling News USA - July 18, 2013 Weber Wins ESPY

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PBA Hall of Famer and 2013 PBA Tournament of Champions winner Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., received his third Best Bowler ESPY Award Wednesday evening during the 2013 ESPY Awards ceremony at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

Weber was among winners in a variety of sports categories and special moments that were determined by fan voting on espn.com with the winners announced during the ESPY Awards telecast on ESPN.

Weber, who previously won the Best Bowler ESPY in 2002 and 2004, won his second Tournament of Champions title at age 50 in April to complete the PBA’s Triple Crown a second time, a feat no other bowler has accomplished. In winning his 37th career PBA Tour title, he tied Norm Duke for third on the all-time career list and tied Earl Anthony for most major titles with 10. He also has six other top-10 Tour finishes this season.

Competing as a rookie on the PBA50 Tour this season, Weber also notched his first win by capturing the USBC Senior Masters title—a PBA50 Tour major.

Weber’s historic win in the Tournament of Champions marked the second consecutive season that his performance in a major made for memorable sports television. In February 2012, he won the U.S. Open and gained widespread media attention for coining the phrase – “Who do you think you are? I am,” after defeating Mike Fagan 215-214 in the championship match for a record fifth U.S. Open title.

Jason Belmonte of Australia and Scott Norton of Mission Viejo, Calif., were also nominated for the 2013 Best Bowler ESPY.

Belmonte, the Australian two-handed specialist and 2011 ESPY Award winner, won the Lucas Oil PBA Bear Open and the USBC Masters for his first major title this season, bringing his career titles total to seven. He also has five other top-five finishes including runner-up finishes in the PBA World Championship, Tournament of Champions and Chameleon Open.

Norton, who was nominated for the first time, has two titles this season which came in the Chameleon Open and Earl Anthony Players Championship. He also has four other top-10 finishes including a second in the Mark Roth Classic and fifth in the Viper Open.

Both Weber and Norton were also members of the New York City Mylan WTT KingPins PBA League championship team owned by tennis legend Billie Jean King.